I'm just a gal getting by with her dog. To help me get by I *try* my best training and bake a lot of dog cookies - for aforementioned training. Also, since they don't announce these things like they should, I have the best dog ever (it says so right here on my coffee mug).

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Dog Treats: Grain-Free Herbal Dog Bites

These wheat-free grain-free herbal bites, might not be your dogs favorite dog cookie, after all its not my dogs favorite, but my pup will still do a boat load of tricks for them nonetheless and they are filled with health promoting herbs.

I wanted something a little more healthy, a little less treat, specifically for my neighbors dog who has some pretty bad breath. Not ready to try the suggestions of changing their dogs food or brushing of her teeth, I thought maybe some wholesome crunchy bites might help.

The treats on the dog shop shelf meant for fresh breath shelf contain parsley and mint. I've had some luck with a yogurt mint carrot treat, but I didn't notice any difference in breath, so I went to my references and found a excerpt in the whole dog journal book of a few kitchen herbs that might help ailments of the mouth and digestive system. I felt comfortable using herbs from my kitchen and thought that their strong flavor might prove a nice counter point to the strong flavor of chickpea flour. So a few trials later I got something that well it tasted .. okay. (I do taste all my homemade dog treats). I was pretty sure they would be completely unpopular with the dogs.

Surprisingly, I was wrong. (Though I have yet to do extensive testing.)

To make these dog treats, I've used a new-to-me technique to deal with the sticky-ness of the chickpea flour, a pizza cutter.

Mush the herbs and olive oil together, then set aside. Mix the ingredients together, and don't skimp on the cheese or the chickpea flour will overwhelm any cheese flavor. Then add the herbs covered in olive oil to the mix.

Spread mixture out on a piece of parchment paper on top of a cookie sheet. The thinner you spread - the quicker the baking. Bake for an hour and half at 275 Fahrenheit or until the dough is not at all sticky, remove the parchment paper and place it on a cutting board. Use a pizza cutter to cut the dough into small square sized treats. Pop the dough back onto the cookie sheet with the pizza cut treats back into the oven until it reaches the desired crunchiness.

Crystal you are in luck! Almost all of my recipes are made without eggs, instead I use ground flaxseed, which helps to cut down on the amount of less-then-favorable flour you need, acts as an egg substitute, and is full of healthy omega threes.

Beckett the Greyhound

Beckett 's Blog

My favorite posts right now are of my original dog cookie recipes. Check out the links below. All my dog cookie recipes are made without wheat and packed full wholesome ingredients. I also ramble about my work on training, thoughts, actually anything dog related.